A Kenyan based smart addressing startup, OkHi, has introduced its services to Nigeria with the help of a new investor and a strategic business partner, Interswitch Group.

The startup entered into the Nigerian space with the primary aim of eradicating a problem that costs businesses in Nigeria approximately US$2 billion every year – lack of proper addressing infrastructure.

The firm was co-founded by Timbo Drayson, who used to be a Google employee, in 2014. While at Google, Drayson pioneered the launch of the well-known Google maps across different markets. Also, he took part in the design of the Google Chromecast.

The startup came to life based on the idea of creating a seamless way to navigate a particular location, area, or city easily.

The innovation has helped lots of business through a technology that allows business owners to collect a current address from any customer, verify it, and get to the location.

Meanwhile, three months ago, OkHi raised a US$1.78 million during a funding round. The fund later came down to US$1.5 million following the exit of an investor.

The expansion to Nigeria follows the success of the startup in Kenya. The firm has successfully reduced the cost of delivery and delivery time by 20% and 40% respectively.

The startup’s address verification technology, which is a first of its kind, helps to verify a location, thereby reducing risk, cost, and time of delivery.

‘’We are excited about the start of our journey in Nigeria. With Interswitch, we have a partner and investor whose technology has a massive positive impact on millions of Nigerians. Their expertise and infrastructure will position us to scale country-wide as fast as possible.’’

After the successfully completing the pilot phase, a Ghanaian food delivery startup, Koliko, is all set to expand its services across the country.

The decision to go fully public came following the positive response recorded during the early months of operations.

According to the firm, hundreds of users subscribed to the food delivery service during the testing phase.

Osborne Amankwah and Asante Julius founded Koliko after completing their university educations.

The food delivery service underwent the beta testing stage between September 2019 and January 2020 before it finally launched this year February.

The food delivery service gives the users the liberty to choose what they’d love to eat via a mobile app that has a detailed menu from food vendors and various local restaurants.

Commenting, the startup mentions that its innovation will not only generate money for the business, but it will also empower restaurants and food vendors by connecting them with a myriad of customers and increase revenue generated.

‘’We aim to help satisfy the cravings of our customers by connecting them to food vendors and restaurants in their vicinity. By that, we are empowering the growth of these food vendors and restaurants,’’ said Asante.

‘’Our platform also offers additional value that edges us over our competitors. The Koliko food delivery platform also helps the user to choose a healthy meal and one that meets their nutritional requirements.’’

So far, the startup has experienced a strong use of its platform. Presently, the firm has about 1,000 active users, and it has processed and completed over 6,000 orders since operations began.

‘’We started by targeting tertiary institutions and young professionals in Sunyani because it is a large market with little competition. We saw it as a good location to test our proof of concept,’’ Asante added.

‘’We look forward to expanding to Kumasi, Accra, and Tamale in Ghana with prospects to introduce our services to other African countries like Nigeria and Kenya.’’